CLEARWATER, Fla. — Each day this spring, whether he's walking into the clubhouse in the morning, stretching with teammates or in the cage taking batting practice, Jeff Francoeur is flashing his signature beaming smile. That's something you might not expect from a 31-year-old who played just 91 major league games over the last two years hitting only .193. Or from someone who's not guaranteed a spot on the Opening Day roster. But Francoeur, who is known around baseball for always being friendly, still has plenty to be happy about. One reason he's so excited to be here is the group hitting instructor he's been working with — Charlie Manuel. In fact,...

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CLEARWATER, Fla. — Each day this spring, whether he's walking into the clubhouse in the morning, stretching with teammates or in the cage taking batting practice, Jeff Francoeur is flashing his signature beaming smile.
That's something you might not...

CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Phillies are in rebuild mode.
It's been talked about a lot this offseason and will be talked about until it's complete.
General manager Pat Gillick said the team won't compete until at least 2017, but who knows exactly how long it...

The Boston Red Sox went on a bit of a spending spree Monday, signing two of the two biggest bats in this Major League Baseball offseason: Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval.
Ramirez, the former Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop, was given a four-year, $88...

BOSTON -- Anthony Ranaudo tossed six strong innings in his major league debut, Dustin Pedroia drove in two runs and the new-look Boston Red Sox won the opener of a three-game series against the rival New York Yankees 4-3 on Friday night.Designated...

BOSTON -- Mark Teixeira homered and Derek Jeter delivered a two-run double that powered the New York Yankees to a 6-4 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.
Rookie right-hander Shane Greene pitched into the fifth inning and designated hitter Carlos...

By Mike Shalin, The Sports XchangeBOSTON — If the New York Yankees make it to the postseason in Derek Jeter's grand finale, they might be able to point to Sunday night as a key to their run.New York came from behind three times and scored an 8-7 victory...

IronPigs manager Dave Brundage had the fortune of managing Raul Ibanez for four years in the minor leagues before giving him the news that he was getting the promotion to the majors in 1996. Brundage also got to work with Adam Jones, who was transitioning from

Monday's thrilling 2-1 U.S. victory over Ghana in the World Cup gave me an idea for a question to throw out to you. I'll assume that everyone reading this saw that game on TV, if they saw it at all ... .

The Phillies have signed veteran infielder Reid Brignac to a minor-league deal that also includes a spring training invitation.. Brignac, 27, was Tampa Bay's second-round pick in 2004 and was a member of Baseball America's top 100 prospect list for four straig

If John Mayberry Jr. keeps this up, it’s going to make it harder and harder for Charlie Manuel and Ruben Amaro Jr. to dismiss him upon Delmon Young’s return, which is getting closer and closer. Mayberry, a former first-round draft ...

Steve Susdorf spent five days in the major leagues before being designated for assignment on Tuesday. Ask any Phillies fan about him, and chances are the only thing they remember of him was his eighth-ining muff in left field on Sunday in Detroit. "I know they

Ethan Martin is bracing himself for when his family arrives in Philadelphia on Friday. “They’ll all be wanting tickets, that’s for sure,” Martin said. With good reason. Martin, 24, was promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday and will make ...

The Phillies continue to make moves involving their minor-league system after not making a trade before the July 31 deadline. Ethan Martin was called up today from Triple-A Lehigh Valley and will make his major-league debut Friday against the Atlanta ...

Darin Ruf was pulled from the IronPigs line-up about 90 minutes before the start of Friday night's game with Norfolk, leading to speculation that the power-hitting left fielder might be heading to Washington to join the PHillies. Not so, according to manager D

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Phillies minor league pitching coordinator Gorman Heimueller is excited. His Triple-A starting rotation will includde five organizaton pitchers for the first time during his tenure. B.J. Rosenberg will be the fifth starter for the IronPigs, joining Tyler Cloyd

The Phillies have signed yet another veteran middle infielder, and this one could be an indication that Cesar Hernandez is going to get a long look in centerfield this season. Jim Negrych, a 28-year-old who was Pittsburgh's sixth-round pick in 2006, does not h

Ever so quietly, the Phillies have allowed one of the three pieces that general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. brought in from Seattle in the original Cliff Lee deal to "restock" the farm system to leave the organization. Reliever J.C. Ramirez chose to become a free

Several golfers are scrambling for the lead at the midway point of the British Open today. They include Lucas Glover, Darren Clarke, Miguel Jimenez and first-round leader Thomas Bjorn. Phil Mickelson shot a 1-under 69 and will make the cut at 1-under...

With the Phillies final game in Clearwater slated for 1:05 this afternoon against the Astros, here are my thoughts on the 25-man roster and Opening Day lineup. 25-MAN ROSTER -Ryan Howard -Jimmy Rollins -Placido Polanco -Carlos Ruiz -Ben Francisco -Shane ...